The Georgia Academy of Audiology is a professional organization of audiologists and friends of the audiology community that promotes quality hearing and balance care by advancing the profession of audiology through leadership, advocacy, education, public awareness, and support of research.*

President's Message

2018-2019 GAA President

Deborah Woodward, Au.D.

Welcome to the new GAA Year! I am very excited to begin this journey with such a great group of

members who are just as passionate as I am about our Audiology career and profession. I would like totake the time to introduce the 2018-19 GAA Board Members.President Elect- Rob AllenPast President- Kate MarrTreasurer-Kayden WilliamsSecretary- Lacey BehnNorth Rep-Sara Woolley and Julia FahrneyMetro Rep-Barbara Goers and Lori SmithSouthern Rep- Doug Lorber and Andrea WebsterThese Amazing Board Members have agreed to volunteer their time and talent to keep our associationmoving forward! Thanks, again!I would like to update our members on several initiatives the association will be working on this year.First and foremost, in order for GAA to survive we MUST continue to grow our membership base. As ofthis writing we have 445 licensed audiologists in the state of Georgia and as of this printing only 60(13%) currently enrolled in the Academy. Your GAA membership committee will be working to attainnew members HOWEVER we can not do this without your help! Please take the initiative to recruit ATLEAST one new member! There is strength in numbers and protecting our profession from outsidepressures (OTCs, others encroaching on our license) takes a strong grass roots effort which of coursecomes with a price.

As you already know, legislative changes are hitting the field of audiology as with most medicalprofessions (OTC’s, reimbursement, etc.). Alice Cellino along with our lobbyists are perched to respondto any and all threats to audiology. This legislative protection also comes with a price tag. As thepolitical climate changes, there will be necessity to “step up” with funds to obtain favorable outcomesfor our state of audiology. I was disappointed upon hearing from our lobbyists that Georgia Academy ofAudiology ranked in the “bottom 2” for PAC donations last year. I am hopeful that this year will bringchange! I would ask that each member begin thinking now “how many cups of Starbucks can I sacrificefor my audiology PAC donation?” We are at a critical crossroads and need EVERYONE’s help andfinancial commitment.Remember to mark your calendars for this year’s GAA convention! Dates are February 7 th and 8 th , 2019again at the Georgia Tech Learning Center. Jessica Allen, Holly Kaplan and our convention committeehave an AMAZING speaker line up of professional panel discussions with experts in telehealth andlegislation. There will also be a professional panel gathered to assist AuD students.I am excited to report that January 28 th has been denoted as “GAA/GSHA Day at the Capitol!” Pleasemark your calendars as this is a wonderful opportunity to meet Georgia representatives and have a one-on -one discussion about legislative issues as they pertain to audiology. Last year was very successful,and I am hopeful to have even more volunteers in January to represent our Academy on the Hill!As we are moving audiology into 2019 let’s all remember why we chose the field of audiology and whatit means to each and every one of us. If we keep that passion moving forward with EVERYONE’s time,talent, and treasure GAA as well as our audiology future will be bright!!Looking forward to a great year!